by Lynn Cahoon
He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. Angie walked through the downstairs one more time, just to make sure she hadn’t left anything down that Dom could mistake as a chew toy. Then she gave her dog a kiss on his head and headed out the door. She locked up the house, more out of habit than expectation that someone would break in. In San Francisco, her condo had had a doorman and three locks on the door, as well as a video camera in the hallway. She’d always felt like she was locking herself inside away from the world when she threw the dead bolts after coming home from work.
Now it just felt like she was keeping Dom safe. No use inviting people to easy pickings, as Nona would have said.
She started the car, and as she pulled out onto the driveway, she noticed that Mrs. Potter had a visitor. Was this Erica’s boyfriend visiting? As she passed by, the man turned and looked at her. She recognized him immediately. It was the man from the park with the loose dog, Jon Ansley.
Glancing at the clock, she knew she didn’t have time to stop, so she dialed Erica’s number instead. She got her voice mail, and left a message asking Erica to call her back. Why was the supposedly grieving widower visiting her neighbor?
Her concern grew as she drove away. There could be a lot of reasons he was there. Maybe he was part of Mrs. Potter’s church and was visiting. Or maybe she was late on her taxes and he was trying to collect. Just as she arrived in River Vista, her phone rang.
“Hey, Angie, what’s going on?” Erica’s cheerful voice was a comfort.
Angie tried to sound casual. “Hey, I’m just being a nosy neighbor. You guys have company?”
“You saw him, huh? Yeah, Mr. Ansley came by to talk to Grans. He’s part of the men’s group at church, and they wanted to know if she needed any work done on the house. I guess the pastor sent them her name.”
“He wants to help take care of the house?” Angie’s radar was way off. The first thing she’d thought when she saw him there was that he was up to no good. Now she was discovering that he was just trying to help.
“Yeah, they did a complete walk around through the house. He’s a sweetheart. I guess the group’s going to talk about it and then decide if they can help.” She paused. “Sorry, I just saw the time. I’m going to be late for my first class if I don’t hurry. Did you need me to check on anything at the house?”
“No, I’m good. I’ve overfed Precious and Mabel, and Dom’s got his own door in and out. But thanks for asking.” She terminated the call, but the feeling of unease continued with her as she parked, then made her way to her office. Something was definitely up with this Jon guy. If she hadn’t already been trying to figure out who had killed Chef Nubbins, she’d take the time to look into Jon’s background further.
The restaurant was empty when she came in through the back door. She turned on the lights as she walked and turned up the air-conditioning. They kept the temperature higher when no one was working or on nonservice days. Even with that habit of trying to conserve, her electric bill was out-of-this-world high.
She sat in front of her computer and started her day by reviewing last week’s income and expenses sheet. Felicia had hired a local CPA who came into the restaurant on Mondays to do the week’s books. Then Angie did the review on Wednesday. This way neither she or Felicia had to take responsibility of the accounting. And there was a double-check verification process in place, just in case this CPA wanted to take off with their funds. She’d had a couple of classes in college in hospitality management, and she’d learned early the value of keeping things separate.
Lost in the work, she didn’t notice Felicia coming into the room until she set a glass of tea in front of Angie, then plopped in her visitor’s chair. She took a long sip. “Thanks, I didn’t realize I was so thirsty.”
“Hopefully you’re at a good stopping point with that, because I really, really want to talk about this new banquet area. I couldn’t sleep last night so I came down and started measuring out the space. Do you realize it would add capacity for over a hundred more people?” Felicia opened a sketch pad. “We could have the loan paid off on this place in record time.”
Angie glanced at the numbers from last week. They were making a profit, but not by much. Adding in more income would make the margin wider and her anxiety level lower. She saved the final report, sent it to Felicia’s email to review, then she’d do the final approval. Angie closed the file. “Extra income would be great, but what’s it going to cost us to implement this? You know we don’t have a lot of cash to invest.”
“Unless you win Restaurant Wars,” Felicia added, lost in her sketch.
“From what I see, winners don’t get to stay around long to collect their prizes.” She shook her head. “Let’s come up with a plan where I don’t put myself in the crosshairs of whoever is playing the Whack-a-Chef game.”
“Whack-a-Chef, that’s funny. Maybe we should do a fund-raiser where we put you guys into one of those water chairs and sell balls so they can throw them at you.”
“A dunk tank.”
Felicia frowned. “Really, that’s what it’s called? Seems like they could have come up with a better name.”
“I guess ‘torture chamber’ was already taken.” She held out her hand. “Let’s see your plans.”
They worked on the drawings, then did initial cost estimates for the project. Finally, Angie leaned back in her chair. “I know it looks like the right decision.”
“You have a ‘but’ in there somewhere.” Felicia glanced over the first sketch she’d drawn with a round table setup.
“We didn’t figure in a sound system. Which we’d need. And this is all based on the theory that people will rent the area after we sink the money into it. What if no one comes?” Angie shook her head. “I’m not saying it’s not a good idea. We need more facts, though. Ask around about the sound system. Let’s get some bids. Then let’s talk to some of the community groups. Who would consider renting the area, and what would they be willing to pay?”
“I can do that. I needed a project, anyway. Well, besides Bleak. Did you know she already finished that book she bought? She showed up last night asking to borrow the rest of the series.” Felicia sighed. “I wish we knew where she was from.”
“I forgot to tell you about my visit with Allen yesterday.” Angie sipped her tea.
“Wait, when did you start calling Sheriff Brown by his first name?” Felicia studied her face. “Are you really Angie or some doppelganger?”
“He asked me to call him Allen. Yeah, it feels weird to me as well. But what’s even weirder? He said I was the best thing to happen to Ian in a long time.” Angie lifted her shoulders in surprise at Felicia’s wide-eyed reaction. “I know! It’s the strangest thing.”
“Okay, so then tell me the rest of the story. Why was he at the house?”
“From what I could tell, he came over for lunch. And for an update on our secret investigation society.” Angie told her about his questions about the other chefs and what they had found out. “I think the task force is trying to sweep this under the rug. And Sheriff Brown—I mean, Allen—keeps coming back with evidence that doesn’t support their accident conclusion.”
“They’re idiots.” Felicia leaned back in her chair.
“Who are idiots?” Estebe stood in the doorway. “Please don’t tell me any of my staff called in today. We have things to discuss. I want to present a new cold box setup.”
“What’s wrong with the way the refrigerator is set up?” Angie didn’t bother pointing out that the kitchen staff was her staff, not his. Besides, he really wouldn’t believe her anyway.
He came over and stood by Felicia. Not touching, but even Angie could feel the connection between the two. “It is inefficient. We waste a lot of time looking for things.”
He might have a point there. Angie decided to let it go. “Everyone’s coming to work, as far as I know. Even Hope.”
<
br /> “Felicia told me she was feeling better.” He met Felicia’s gaze and smiled. “Our girl is a strong survivor. Heatstroke isn’t going to keep her down.”
“Yeah, but Matt’s overprotectiveness might.” When Estebe’s eyes narrowed, Angie waved the question away. “Anyway, what do you think of our plans to open up the back room for banquets and meetings?”
“I know I can have it booked at least once a month. My men’s group at the community center is looking for a room where we can have food and a bit of refreshments.” Estebe leaned on the arm of Felicia’s chair. “Of course, you’ll have to have it on a night where I’m not on the line.”
“I’m thinking we could move our classes in there too. That would get them out of the kitchen,” Felicia added.
“You’d have to set up a small kitchen in the front.” Angie thought there would be room, but that would cut down the number of people they could get into the room. “Cost that out for me too? You’d have to downgrade our capacity limits.”
Felicia made a note and then paused. “We’re really doing this, right?”
“We’ve opened two restaurants together. Why is opening a room so exciting all of a sudden?” Angie studied her friend.
“I love new beginnings. I was beginning to get itchy feet since we hadn’t done anything new and exciting for a long time.” Felicia closed her notebook and moved toward the door. “I’ll have the new estimates ready next week. We can go over them on Tuesday.”
Estebe and Angie watched her leave. Angie could see a touch of fear in his eyes. Was he thinking the same thing: that Felicia wouldn’t ever settle down? That the lure of something new might threaten their relationship, already on weak ground? “I’m sure she meant she likes new projects, not anything about…”
Estebe held out his hand. “Don’t say it. I knew who she was when we started dating. I just hope she gets over this need sooner than later.”
Angie watched him walk out of the office and wondered how long it would be before Felicia broke his heart.
Chapter 13
They were in the middle of family meal when Bleak leaned over to Angie and whispered, “Do I have to eat everything? I don’t really like soup.”
Trying to keep the laughter inside, Angie nodded. “Well, it’s a family meal, so just like in my family, you have to try a little of everything.”
“But she doesn’t make you clean your plate like my mom does.” Hope smiled at the younger girl. She’d been the first to greet Bleak after Felicia introduced her to the team. And since they’d had a little bit of time, Hope had walked her through the restaurant. “I’m betting you’ll like it, though. There hasn’t been one dish that Angie’s brought to the table for menu consideration that I didn’t love.”
“Hey now, my dish is on the table this week too.” Nancy gave Hope a gentle nudge with her elbow. “I’m sure you’ll love it as well.”
“Of course she will,” Estebe said, trying to move the conversation away from picky eaters and back to the topic at hand: his cold box rework. “I’ve given you all a mock-up to look at, and if you agree, I’ll need a couple of people to come in for a few hours on Monday to restock.”
“I need the hours.” Matt lifted his hand. He looked across the table at Hope. “What about you? You aren’t in school yet, are you?”
“No, but my family is going to Coeur d’Alene for the week. It’s the only time all of us could get together. I’ve already taken the week off, right, Angie?”
“Yep. You’re off the schedule. And I want you to train Bleak in running the dishwasher this week so she can cover for you.” Angie and Felicia had decided earlier that they’d use the new employee to cover for Hope’s vacation rather than bringing in a temp whom they’d have to train anyway.
“I thought I was just cleaning up tables?” Bleak’s eyes widened as she thought of the enormity of the job.
When Bleak turned her way, Felicia added, “After Hope gets back, you’ll be busing tables. By the time we have you fully trained, you may know every job in the restaurant.”
“Also, I’m taking you with me to the fair on Friday and Saturday. I won’t be able to have you in the trailer, but I think we can keep you busy. And you’ll have time to explore the grounds when we don’t need you.”
“And once we’re off, we’ll go play on the rides!” Hope clapped her hands together, bouncing in her chair. “It will be a blast. I’ll drive you home so Angie doesn’t have to wait around for us.”
Matt shook his head. “You weren’t that excited to go on the rides with me.”
“Stop being a baby. You’ve had your fun. Now it’s girls’ night,” Hope said.
Bleak sank deeper into her shoulders. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t have any money for rides.”
“Oh, I’ll pay for the wristband.” Angie hoped that the other two wouldn’t complain, or at least that they wouldn’t do it in front of Bleak. “It’s part of your benefits for the day. We do extra things like this all the time, so I just appreciate you all chipping in. And since you don’t have school or anything, you’re the lucky one to be scheduled.”
Bleak seemed to accept that. For her being homeless a few days ago, the girl had standards. Angie couldn’t understand how anyone would let her run away. Or disown her once she was found.
Angie glanced around the table. Most of the people were finished eating, so she thought she’d go over the plan for the week while they finished. “Okay then, we still need someone to work with Matt and Estebe on Monday. I’ll pay for pizza to be brought in as an added incentive.”
“If you show me what to do, I’ll come.” Bleak raised her hand a little, then dropped it when Angie looked at her. “I’ll probably just be reading anyway.”
“That’s awesome.” Angie glanced at Estebe, who nodded. “So now it’s a vote on the new menu items. You aren’t going to hurt anyone’s feelings if you vote against an item. Except remember—I sign your paychecks.”
“Hey,” Nancy chimed in, “no fair. I just want to say I will cry and hold it against you if you don’t like my dish.”
Chuckling, Estebe stepped in. “I’ll explain the voting for our newest team member. I’ll ask for three votes for a dish. The first time I’ll ask if you liked it. Raise your hands and keep them up. The second time, I’ll ask if you would order it again at a restaurant. Again, keep your hands up. Then finally, I’ll ask if you would recommend this dish to your grandmother if she came into the County Seat. You have to have at least three-quarters of the room’s votes in the last question for the dish to go on the menu.”
“That’s crazy.” Bleak shook her head. “What if I just don’t like soup?”
“Then you don’t raise your hand. Not everyone likes everything. But we only want the best for our menu.” He held up a portion of the soup that had been plated and set aside on a table for the voting process. “Who liked the chowder?”
After they’d gone through all three dishes and had moved them all onto the menu for the next month, the group disbanded to get ready for service. Angie took Bleak’s hand. “You’ll be in the kitchen this week. Hope? Come show Bleak your prep.”
As prep for the night continued, Estebe pulled her aside. “This Bleak girl, she isn’t eighteen.”
“I know. But she’s sixteen, so she can work. Just don’t have her cooking, please.” Angie watched as Hope showed her how to set up the steaks for the cold box. “Her folks have washed their hands of her. I don’t even understand it. She seems a little goth, but mostly she’s a sweet kid.”
“Who should be in school,” Estebe noted.
Angie nodded. “I agree, but right now Sheriff Brown is taking over her guardian tasks. He just wants her here in a safe working environment until he can get her to go back.”
“She is strong-headed. Like a yearling colt. She needs to be given some room.” He nodded. “We will watch out f
or her.”
“We need to brainstorm some ideas for a walking main dish for Friday’s contest. Do you want me to come in early tomorrow, and we can play with some ideas before prep?”
Estebe set a plate up on the pass for the waitress to deliver. “That will work.”
Angie checked her chef coat for stains. “I’m going to go walk the dining room. If I’m not back in ten minutes, come save me.”
“You are good at the talking thing. I don’t believe you’ll need saved.” A smile curved his lips. “Besides, it scares me out there.”
“Chicken.” Angie walked to the door and paused, taking a deep breath. Going out into the dining room to meet and greet the customers kind of scared her. More than what she’d admit to her second in command, or even herself.
Felicia was in the alcove watching the room. “Hey, I didn’t think I’d get you out here tonight.”
“I decided to be brave.” She peered at a table. “Isn’t that…”
Nodding, Felicia picked up a water pitcher. “Miquel decided to grace us with his presence. Or he decided we were worth worrying about. Let’s go over and see how his dinner is tasting.”
They walked over and stood at the table. When he looked up, the sly smile went on like a mask. “Good evening, ladies. I’m so glad to be able to come enjoy your lovely place.”
“Do you like the lamb? The rancher is local, but of course, you probably know we source as much of our supplies from local markets as we can.” Angie smiled at the woman sitting across from Miquel. “I’m Angie Turner, and this is my co-owner, Felicia Williams.”
“Talla Evans. It’s a great place. Honestly, when Miquel said he was taking me to dinner out in the country, I thought we were going to Riverside in Marsing. I didn’t know this place existed.” The blonde pushed back her hair before taking a sip of wine. “Everything is so lovely. I’ll definitely be back.”
“Talla writes for the Sun Valley Journal. Maybe you’ll get a good write-up out of this.” Miquel smiled at the woman, and for a minute, Angie thought she saw true affection. Then his face turned back into the mask. “I’m sorry, but Angie, could I speak with you outside for a short minute? I know you’re probably needed in the kitchen, but this is important.”
